Emily W. Jensen: Whitney Winners and almost playing Trivial Pursuit with Ken Jennings

Which LDS authors' works were deemed best of 2010? And almost playing trivial pursuit with Ken Jennings. Plus, Ally Condie on an MTV blog.

Whitney Winners: Saturday night, 12 LDS authors were honored for their contributions to LDS fiction at the annual Whitney Awards. And there was a surprise in that not one but two books tied for Best Novel of the Year! And I’ve read both and totally agree that they both deserved it! Click to see the whole list (with clickable links to more thorough reviews) and to see which of your favorite novels from 2010 won.

Ally Condie: Speaking of writers, the LDS author of "Matched" takes a turn guest blogging for the Hollywood Crush at MTV.com to talk about the “Dystopian” genre. How often is a Mormon mother on an MTV sponsored site? Cool.

Mother’s Day: Speaking of Mormon mothers, I loved this post that combined testimony with family history in a beautiful tribute to his foremothers “I Don’t Have to Be Mormon: A Mother’s Day Post.” Here’s a snippet: “My mother didn’t have to be Mormon. ... She fell in love almost immediately. They were married fairly soon thereafter and she lived the life of a military wife, traveling the country, spending time apart from him when he went overseas. He wasn’t a member, didn’t believe in religion at all really. She didn’t have to be a Mormon. She chose to be.” Click for more.

Ken Jennings: “The Time I Almost Played Trivial Pursuit with Ken Jennings.” Doesn’t that blog post title just reach out and grab you? And the post is delightfully fun: “At any rate Jessie invited our family over for dinner one night to celebrate her son's birthday. It was gonna be a small family thing, a few friends, some good food because Jessie's a great cook. No big deal. Except, when we got there, Ken Jennings was there with his family and nobody else. Just us, the Christensens and the Jennings. I was like 'Oh, hello Ken Jennings ... ' and then I looked away awkwardly for a moment, not sure of what to do next.” And what happens when someone suggests playing Trivial Pursuit? Click in to find out!